Chris Hadfield’s recent cover of David Bowie’s classic song “Space Oddity” received more than 20 million views on YouTube. And not because of Hadfield’s voice (which isn’t bad, for an astronaut). Commander Hadfield was singing the song in space aboard the International Space Station. He describes the video as “a bending of science fiction and science fact.”
Social media has changed what it means to be an astronaut. Tweeting and blogging in space earned Hadfield millions of fans back on Earth — and they had a ton of questions. So Hadfield started producing videos demonstrating how he brushes his teeth or what happens to tears without gravity. He even earned a fan in his childhood hero, Captain James T. Kirk. “I had a long phone call back and forth with … I guess I can call him Bill Shatner now,” Hadfield says. “He wasn’t interested in talking about things that happened 40 years ago on TV. He was interested in what’s going on, what’s happening on-station, where are we headed next, what’s the purpose of it, what’s the actual experience like?”
(Originally aired: January 24, 2014)
Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you. We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll help us unlock a matching gift of $67,000!